Don't get me wrong it is wonderful to see Tiger Woods back playing great golf, it really is, but as a European I am absolutely baffled at the clamour to get him back into the USA Ryder Cup side. Team USA won last time at their ease without him and Tiger for all his individual prowess has never really clicked in the Ryder Cup environment.

Since 1997 Tiger has played 33 matches in the USA colours winning just 14.5 points in total. Pairings with everyone from "friends" like Mark O'Meara to "enemies" like Phil Mickelson have been disastrous and the whole question of 'who to pair with Tiger?' has for me upset the Team USA dynamic more often than helped it. Even when the dream pairing with the passive Steve Stricker was hit upon at Celtic Manor in one of the best Ryder Cups ever, it turned to mush next time out in Medinah as Davis Love fell on his sword by insisting on pairing them together three times with nothing to show in return.

To put it into perspective Tiger Woods has only been on the winning side once in seven Ryder Cup appearances, and that was 19 years ago at Brookline in 1999.

Captain Jim Furyk himself said recently that it was 'intimidating'.......not to play against Tiger Woods in a Ryder Cup......but to play on the same side as him. "To live in his shoes for a day was a rude awakening," Furyk said.

And so it has proved. In Ryder Cup foursomes Tiger has a 4-8-1 (win, loss, half) record and in fourballs it is only slightly better at 5-8-0. Only in singles has Woods thrived with a record of 4-1-2.

Alone he's better. But the Ryder Cup is a team event. Be careful what you wish for Team USA.

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